Tickets selling like hot cakes in Serbia

If current trends are anything to go by, ticket demand for the European Championship in Serbia will exceed supply for the eagerly-awaited tournament to be held in January.

Having announced earlier this week that the Cair Arena in the southern city of Nis has been sold out for Preliminary Round Group B matches, the Serbian Handball Federation (RSS) said on Thursday that tickets for all venues offered at a 20 percent discount have gone to their respective buyers too.

"There are none left, only some day tickets are still available," RSS ticketing manager Biljana Djokic said.

She specified that some 40 percent of the tickets allocated for Belgrade’s Pionir Arena in Group A, comprising hosts Serbia, Denmark, Poland and Slovakia, were still available, while plenty are still on offer for the SPENS Sports Centre in Novi Sad, where defending champions France, Spain, Hungary and Russia will play in arguably the toughest Preliminary Round Group C.

In its latest report, the RSS said around 80 percent of the tickets were sold out for the Millennium Hall in Vrsac, where Croatia, Slovenia, Norway and Iceland will meet in Group D.

The Slovenian Handball Federation has already booked 1,300 tickets for their fans, many of whom will be based in Belgrade as accommodation capacities in Vrsac, a town of 40,000 in Serbia’s northern province Vojvodina, fall short of demand with thousands of travelling fans appear set to throng the picturesque farmlands near the Romanian border.

Test in Vrsac

The Millennium hall will get its first taste of top-level handball action on Saturday, 1 October 2011, when Serbian title holders Partizan Belgrade take on Danish rivals Copenhagen in an VELUX EHF Champions League Group D opener.

Partizan’s managing director Aleksandar Blagojevic said the match, as well as the club’s entire VELUX EHF Champions League campaign, was a dress rehearsal for the EHF EURO 2012 and hopefully a taste of things to come as regards the quality of handball and fan attendance.

"Of course we would have liked to be on our own turf in Belgrade for our first home match, but on the other hand playing in Vrsac will be great for the town which has shown incredible hospitality as we moved our logistics there for the game against Copenhagen," Blagojevic told a news conference on Thursday.

"This match and our whole group stage campaign in the VELUX EHF Champions League will be a good dress rehearsal for the European Championship and fans should look forward to high-quality handball as we take on Europe’s top teams," he said.

"There is no doubt that the Millennium Hall will be a great host to all teams taking part in the EHF EURO 2012 and we will be delighted to play in what should be a full house on Saturday against Copenhagen," added Blagojevic.

Partizan will play their first two home games in Vrsac and the other three in Belgrade’s Pionir Arena, now hosting the women’s European Volleyball Championship.

Further information

Download the Official EHF EURO 2012 Playing Schedule (pdf)

Buy your EHF EURO 2012 tickets HERE.

Ticketing is managed by the Serbian Organising Committees. Should you need further assistance for buying your tickets, please contact via email: tickets@rss.org.rs

Find more information on the tournament on the official website www.ehf-euro.com/SRB2012/

Join the growing community of fans of the event on Facebook www.facebook.com/SRB2012